Shmups

[PikaStu]

I managed to get Dangun Feveron (Xbone) for a decent price, so had a quick shot tonight. Seems cool but I think I prefer Battle Garegga out of the two. It is very colourful though, and the soundtrack is decent. I’ve been playing Fever mode as that has the auto-bomb so it’s not as brutally hard as Arcade mode!

However one option it seems to be missing (that Garegga had) is being able to set the instruction card artwork as a wallpaper instead of having a screen full of gadgets, or just a black background.

[ImmaculateClump]

Try this in fever mode. Makes it much more fun - https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=1253013#p1253013

 

Quote

How to deactivate the Safety Line
- Stay in the Safety Zone for the whole of the first half of the first stage - do not leave the Safety Zone at all
- Kill everything as quickly as possible, and let cyborgs auto-collect
- Before you get to the mid-point of the stage with the three large missile-launcher satellites, have at least 140 cyborgs collected (not value, collected).
- The Safety Line will disappear at this point if you've triggered what is essentially Ura Route.

 

Bewbs

 

There's a score to beat in Like Dreamer Maniac mode if anyone's playing.

Game is godly. The singer community stage is loads of fun.

[immortaljellyfish]

1 hour ago, ImmaculateClump said:

Try this in fever mode. Makes it much more fun - https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=1253013#p1253013

 

 

Bewbs

 

There's a score to beat in Like Dreamer Maniac mode if anyone's playing.

Game is godly. The singer community stage is loads of fun.

 

I've played a bit. I must admit it's right on the cusp on the level of "squee" I'm able to tolerate in a game, tho I fully admit I'm a grumpy old fuck.

[Benny]

Why do some shmups have to be so fucking embarrassing

[Camel]

I've spent a bit of time recently playing the PS4 release of Gleylancer. I have played the MD version numerous times in the past, but this time it's got its hooks in me. It's great once you get into the rhythm of the game. Thought I was doing pretty well getting to level four on one credit recently only to look at the trophies to find there are like ten levels 

[ImmaculateClump]

Yeah, it's really good fun! I posted a couple of things here which might help you. There's a few hidden extends, and make sure you crank your movement speed up a little bit during the last bosses final pattern because his homing ball things are a nightmare to dodge otherwise.

 

https://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?/topic/192102-shmups/page/147/#comment-13355575

 

13 hours ago, immortaljellyfish said:

I must admit it's right on the cusp on the level of "squee" I'm able to tolerate in a game, tho I fully admit I'm a grumpy old fuck.

 

Haha, I can totally understand that. One more adorable bunny in a nightshirt and I'm gonna fall into a diabetic coma.

[Camel]

43 minutes ago, ImmaculateClump said:

Yeah, it's really good fun! I posted a couple of things here which might help you. There's a few hidden extends, and make sure you crank your movement speed up a little bit during the last bosses final pattern because his homing ball things are a nightmare to dodge otherwise.

 

https://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?/topic/192102-shmups/page/147/#comment-13355575

 

 

Haha, I can totally understand that. One more adorable bunny in a nightshirt and I'm gonna fall into a diabetic coma.

 

Yeah I've bumped my speed up one in the options screen. Incidentally, there's a bug in the options screen. If you press 'X' to open the options screen, it registers that press on the first option in the menu - difficulty - so it bumps up the difficulty every time you go in there.

Last boss. lol. Like I'm ever seeing that.

[ImmaculateClump]

There's expert down. I tried the cat lass, she's pretty good. The bomb I chose is great! Very concentrated and it messages insults at the enemy. Text comes up with things like "loser" and "noisy" which I'm assuming is a mistranslation.

 

Shitty score as I was playing so cautiously. Nightmare is gonna be really hard towards the end if that was anything to go by.

 

 

Aw, man. Beat my score on expert, but the last boss of the secret stage got me. chikusho, indeed!

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Yus! Got a better score after switching back to baps the hat.

 

 

 

[ImmaculateClump]

My face during the final boss

 

https://streamable.com/e1ge9s

 

The current queen of the shmup socials followers are all tweeting and smack talking you during the royal stage and I saw this the other day. One of them goes

 

"The queen is the best! I can't even look at that piece of shit!"

 

 

Game of the year. If you've got a pc, you need this.

No matter what your skill level, it's got you covered.

[Benny]

Despite being a casual shmup fan I've been playing dozens lately. I think I've realised my favourite ever now is Cho Ren Sha 68K:

 

 

I'm not sure what it is about the game exactly, but I can think of a few things:

 

1) unlike typical "bullet hell" shmups, the bullet rains aren't quite as hellish, and it feels a bit more traditional/old school in that respect.

 

2) most of the ships are massive. It makes it all the more satisfying when your bullets are ripping through them

 

3) the sound effect and music are really punchy. The music seems to have been designed to drop certain beats at the same time as certain waves, which is an idea you do get in some scrolling shooters but I don't see it often enough for my taste. Also: the sound effects when the big ships explode are really meaty

 

4) the power up system. The risk reward of deciding which of 3 upgrades you really need, or risking getting the wrong one to try and grab 3 at once. Brilliant.

 

5) the drama. I've seen the game criticised for having one background. Personally I find this works in the game's favour: it puts focus on the wonderfully designed ships and bosses, keeps bullets very easy to see, and to my mind it fits with how the narrative of the game is playing out: when you first burst onto the first level it's like you've just smashed through the side of a mothership and are making your escape, so it makes sense that you are being met by all the biggest and baddest ships as you try to leave in what looks like a long chute or vent.

 

It's just a really fun, extremely well designed, looking and sounding game. It's a toss up for me I think for my favourite ever shmup between this, R-Type, and oddly enough Warning Forever. 

 

I also really like Stargunner but internet people like to get sniffy about "euro" shmups

[ImmaculateClump]

Yes! Cho Ren Sha is magnificent. Like you say, it's more about learning the enemy types and their attack patterns rather than tapping your way through a dense hail of bullets.

Have you seen how fast the bullets get on loop 8

 

[Benny]

Ridiculous. I struggle at level 3 just on normal mode

[Quest]

1 hour ago, Benny said:

Warning Forever.

 

Was reminded of this for the first time in years while playing Space Inaders Infinity Gene last week.

 

Looks like the last thing Hikware released was some kind of phone app for timing airsoft shots in 2016. Shame really.

[Benny]

I played Warning Forever when it released and remember thinking at the time it was one of the most original and fun shmups I'd played. Still nothing like it really as far as I know.

 

Also, a tip for Cho Ren Sha for anyone who's yet to play it: set up auto/turbo fire. It's essential or you'll just get fatigue bashing the fire button or ctrl for ages. It does play quite well on a keyboard otherwise, if you don't set up joy2key, like a lot of shmups. The ability to just tap the arrow keys actually makes short movements to avoid bullets a bit easier than a stick I find, if less enjoyable.

[ImmaculateClump]

Yeah, I find that.
I can do big sweeping curves better on a stick, but I find microtapping a doddle with keys.
I taught myself to play really well on keyboard, but it's less fun, like you say, and the big one for me is that my tendons scream at me after playing for an hour on keyboard, whereas I could be going all night on a stick if I wanted to, madam.

 

I'll have to give this Warning Forever a go. I think I tried it before a long time ago, some randomized boss rush sort of thing, isn't it, if I'm thinking of the right one.

 

Here's the link if anyone else wants to have a go - http://www.hikware.com/Prod/dlcount.cgi?product=wf

[strawdonkey]

Yeah Warning Forever is brilliant, I remember playing that around the same time as Kenta Cho being the most prolific developer on earth.

[Jonster]

Some more love for Warning Forever. Still think I've got my original download on the removable hard drive somewhere!

 

Went to Arcade Club (Bury) for the first time in quite a while today and they've a whole line of shmup cabs now in a room. Shame that room also had TGM3 to distract me, but I was still impressed.

[Benny]

Oh shit, I just played M.U.S.H.A for the first time - now that might be in the running for my favourite shmup too. Superb game!

 

Superb music too. I also just read that Richard Leadbetter of Digital Foundry apparently gave it a sniffy review in C&VG back in the day 

[Qazimod]

13 hours ago, strawdonkey said:

Yeah Warning Forever is brilliant, I remember playing that around the same time as Kenta Cho being the most prolific developer on earth.

 

Warning Forever also got a lovely browser-based demake, Warning Foregone, although unfortunately I think it's Flash-based so you'd have a hard time getting it to run.

 

But if we're getting nostalgic then yeah, the glory years were that, Cho Ren Sha, Kenta Cho's games (you can still play Torus Trooper in your browser here), and also the early Touhou bangers.

[PikaStu]

A week since it was released, I’m still working my way through ShmupJunkie’s epic Megadrive shmup video…

 

[ImmaculateClump]

There's a speedrun mode you unlock after beating the boss rush in Like Dreamer. It plays like the arrange mode in zeroranger where the game scrolls forward if you beat the enemies quicker. It's loads of fun.

I think it might pay to experiment with using the extra missiles loadout as that'd put the bosses down quicker.

There's a time to beat

 

 

Man, even the boss rush in this game is fun, they truncate the bosses so it's not a joyless slog.

 

I unlocked a mode where you play all the stages in trial mode as well instead of having to choose between them which is great!

[Benny]

Just played the demo of ZeroRanger - I realised the first boss is basically teaching you how to deal with bullet hell. Something about the patterns just feels really intuitive. It also controls extremely nicely with a stick, and I was bobbing and weaving in it really well. Great little game.

[hazeredmist]

Deal alert… Deathsmiles on Switch £26.95 

 

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/deathsmiles-i-ii-nintendo-switch-3971623 

[Riven]

So I grabbed the PlayStation 4 release of Flying Shark, Shark, Shark Toaplan Arcade Garage at the start of July that one of the M2 Shot Trigger games on PlayStation 4. Comes with Flying Shark, Fire Shark and the DLC bonus titles Wardner. Really enjoying it, I really like the original Flying Shark which is just such a chilled classic shooter.

 

Only downside and as a warning to anyone who has a PS4, unlikely the Switch version which I believe has it all on cart. Wardner and the console games is a PS4 Japanese DLC code in the retail version. So you require a Japanese PlayStation account. I have one from my PS3 days, but PS4 DLC is also account locked and you need to run your Japanese account in order to play it, won't run if you launch via an English account. Same goes for the free puzzle game (洗脳ゲーム テキ・パキ) Brainwashing Game Teki Pak that is included in both the Tiger-Heli Collection and this one.

[ImmaculateClump]

I often buy games on my japanese account and just play on the english one, so the dlc wouldn't work unless you played on the japanese account you bought it? That's a pisser, I'll have to remember that. Good to know.

 

Ooh yeah! Got a much better time in speedrun expert.
I forgot to take a picture at the end, so that'll have to do.

 

[spatular]

Yeah thats an odd one Japanese stuff usually works ok on a uk account, after its been downloaded via the Jpn account anyway. Hope they dont make a habit of region locking stuff like that.

[ImmaculateClump]

Natsuki and Ginga force both have decent discounts on steam at the minute - https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/18992/The_Seventia_Collection/

64% off if you buy them together, 60% off individually.

I have a personal preference for Natsuki, but they're both grand.
If you liked the recent Drainus, that lifted a lot from Natsuki.

 

Steam page is up for that Kikura game - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2095600/KIKURA/

 

 

[Riven]

On 26/07/2022 at 15:29, ImmaculateClump said:

I often buy games on my japanese account and just play on the english one, so the dlc wouldn't work unless you played on the japanese account you bought it? That's a pisser, I'll have to remember that. Good to know.

 

 

Yes, it only work on the Japanese account that purchased it, same with the free to play game border break. You get a padlock on the game otherwise, that said I should double check I set it as my primary PS4 for that account. It just dawned on me I might not have set it, if you guys have it working.

[ImmaculateClump]

I've never bought any DLC on there myself.